Tagged Questions

1
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1answer
40 views

Interpreting the results

I have preformed the muon lifetime experiment at my uni's lab, and got the data. It's text file with 8190 numbers. My TDC unit was set so that the time gates were at 10 $\mu s$, and it has 8192 ...
1
vote
1answer
112 views

Uncertainty in Acceleration given the uncertainty in position

I had a motion detector record the position of a dynamics cart and automatically plot Position vs Time and Velocity vs Time plots in Logger Pro on the computer. If the instrument uncertainty in ...
1
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1answer
63 views

More points vs. precision

I have a dilemma. In my lab exercise, I was measuring spectra with HPGe detector of several sources (gamma spectroscopy). To determine the energy of the unknown spectrum I first needed to calibrate ...
0
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1answer
51 views

Dealing with experimental data

I have some experimental data about a value $n$, now, I am supposed to give, in the ending, a single value with an error: $n=a\pm b $. I have originally 6 values of $n$, each one comes as an indirect ...
4
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0answers
71 views

Design of experiments to determine proportionality

A common result of theoretical analysis in physics is some sort of relation derived from physical parameters and typically expressed in the form of a non-dimensional parameter. These scale relations ...
0
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3answers
98 views

How to find exponential values

I have a power equation for flow between two circular disks on a common axis as stator and rotor, which follows, $$P = \frac{n^a}{G}\tag{1}$$ Where: $P$ = power, $n$ = revolution (1200 rev/min), ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views

Peak deconvolution [closed]

I need some help understanding how much information I can pull out of this data. I have a sample made up of two materials. Materials A and material B. Then I took a picture of the sample. The two ...
0
votes
2answers
300 views

Microsoft Excel not graphing $x = y^{1/2}$

The experiment was relating the period of one "bounce" when you hang a weight on a spring and let it bounce. I have this data here, one being mass and one being time. The time is an average of 5 ...
2
votes
0answers
138 views

How do I do error calculus right using gnuplot as an example?

Given is a set of measurements with their respective errors for example an energy spectrum. In gnuplot one is to fit a function $ f(x;\{p_i\})$ depending on a variable $x$ and on fit parameters $p_i$. ...
3
votes
1answer
165 views

Lab observation correct? As distance decreases, velocity increases, stderr decreases

The experiment goes like this: Allow a moving cart to move from the top of an incline plane ($x_0$) downwards. The time taken will be recorded by the picket fence (those things you see wired up). ...
6
votes
2answers
297 views

Use of Monte-Carlo simulation in High-energy Physics

I've been doing some research into the analysis used in particle physics when determining the significance of a finding (e.g. the recent Higgs candidate was announced as a boson in the 125-126 ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views

Variance of Nested Experimental Uncertainty

I have to find the uncertainty of a quantity $Q$ doing two mean values. For example for a set of parameters I measure ten times $Q$, I obtain a mean value $Q_1$ and variance ${\rm Var}(Q_1)$. Then for ...
4
votes
1answer
189 views

Pendulum: Deduce proportionality from experiment

I know, very easy for all of you, but I'm a beginner in physics ... ;) I have to work with the mathematical pendulum. After some experiments (changing mass, chaning pendulum's length etc.), I could ...
4
votes
2answers
213 views

What do “local” and “global” mean when talking about standard deviations in experimental particle physics?

I found the following sentence: The excess is most compatible with a SM Higgs hypothesis in the vicinity of 124 GeV and below, but the statistical significance (2.6σ local and 1.9σ global after ...
3
votes
5answers
1k views

How to guess the correct fitting function to some data?

Imagine we are plotting some date points $\left(x_i,f(x_i)\right)$ that we obtained experimentally, and that we want to know what $f(x)$ is. The way to do this is to use some software and try to fit ...
3
votes
1answer
362 views

Fitting to a high density scatter plot

I am trying to do a crude particle identification, using a Bethe Bloch tenchnique. Here is a plot I made from the data that I have From what I've read, the standard method to identify charged ...
5
votes
2answers
277 views

How are the HEP experiments' invariant mass plots generated?

I am experimenting and playing around with some data, and I'm having trouble seeing how to generate invariant mass plots. The data I have has a bunch of events, and variables such as ...
4
votes
1answer
412 views

What is meant by “combinatorial background” in experimental high energy physics

My guess is that they find a certain tracks coming from a certain source by "combintaorially" selecting all track pairs and finding their invariant mass. If this is true, of which I am not sure, how ...
7
votes
2answers
220 views

How to predict how much data to collect

The same question on CrossValidated Apologies if I'm being a bit vague in what follows, I've been asked to keep certain aspects of the experiment confidential for the time being. An analogous ...
13
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2answers
1k views

Did the researchers at Fermilab find a fifth force?

Please consider the publication Invariant Mass Distribution of Jet Pairs Produced in Association with a W boson in $p\bar{p}$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$ TeV by the CDF-Collaboration, ...